Minnesota Organization Gets $1.5M Grant To Help Minority Businesses

 A federal business agency has awarded a Minnesota organization that helps minority-owned businesses grow with a $1.5 million grant.

The U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency announced Thursday that the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) will get $302,400 in federal funding each year over the next five years.

MEDA is an organization that helps minority entrepreneurs develop their ideas, get access to capital and connect with resources. With the grant money, the organization will operate a MBDA Business Center in Minneapolis.

There are currently more than 47,000 minority-owned businesses in Minnesota, federal officials say. These firms contribute more than $7.8 million annually in economic output and employ more than 58,000 people.

Federal officials say that MBDA Business Centers, since first appearing in 2009, have helped minority businesses get access to more than $31 billion in capital and contracts and create more than 142,000 jobs across the country.